Letter: Rape kit testing not always needed

Your Aug. 20 story "MPD to seek funds for rape kit tests" was incomplete and inflammatory. At the tail end of the story, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich was quoted as saying that not all rape cases needed the rape kit test results for a conviction. The responsible thing for a responsible publication to do is to determine how many rape cases are open and not prosecuted due to the lack of test results from the rape test kit.

Forensic testing has become a buzzword due to television coverage. Forensic testing is very expensive. Tax dollars do not need to be spent testing a rape kit where the offender has already been identified, tried and convicted. Find out if there is a need for those kits to be tested and define the impact on the potential number of unidentified offenders before stirring up angst in the community.

This may be a real issue, but your story was incomplete and needs more details for the public to make an informed opinion.